Holy shit this discussion pisses me off.
I’ve written and deleted 4 different versions of this, just because they turn in to me ranting unintelligibly.
So…… I’ll try again.
1- Is there a breed called Pit Bull? Yes. Yes, there is a breed called Pit Bull. The UKC started registering the American Pit Bull Terrier in 1898. Other groups have begun registering them since. ADBA is most well known. So. If you ever get into the discussion of “IS there a breed called Pit Bull?” then unequivocally….. The answer is yes. There is no debate. Yes.
2- Are the dogs people refer to as Pit Bulls actually APBT’s? No. Probably not. I’d kiss your entire asshole if we ran into a “Pit Bull” on some random street that had legit papers.
3- Does that matter at all? No. Not one bit. And there’s a lot of reasons why.
Pit Bulls were bred for function. That function determined their look. Same reason most Olympic Weightlifters look similar. And most NBA players look similar. And they tend not to look like each other. Function dictates form. The UKC was able to set a standard, because they looked true to type. But….. No pit ref ever asked for papers. And the dog men that pitted their dogs would’ve bred in gopher blood if they thought it would’ve made a better dog. Jesus Christ……. Its a fucking Bull & Terrier cross from day one!!!!!!!!
So…… Even though there IS a registered APBT “breed”. There really is no such thing as a “pure” Pit Bull. They’ve been mixing blood into that breed from jump.
If one more person asks me if my dog is “pure”, I’m gonna punch them in the throat.
4- You will be discriminated against because your dog is a “Pit Bull” whether you have papers saying it’s a French Bulldog/Boxer cross or not. All “bully” crosses are taking the brunt of the misinformation machine, and complicit shitty owners. So, arguing that there’s “no such breed” still ain’t gonna get you in that apartment.
5- That fucking “Pick The Pit Bull” chart they pull out to prove BSL wrong is so NOT helpful. Trying to convince people that they can’t “find” the Pit Bull, does nothing to change their minds about what they THINK about Pit Bulls. It’s like saying segregating a person based on race is not cool, because of the difficulty in properly identifying their race. NOT that that shit is just WRONG. Stop muddying the water. Want to help defend these dogs…… learn about them. Then defend them. Don’t play the red herring game and say “you can’t even find one….. nanny nanny boo boo”.
Summary: The UKC officially “recognized” the type of dog the pit dogmen created a long time ago. I can recognize that type of dog when I see them outside whether they have papers or not. The fact that your dog doesn’t have papers won’t save you from BSL. The fact that your dog isn’t even remotely that old pit type of dog won’t save you from BSL. The fact that prejudicial douchebags can’t pick a UKC papered Pit bull out of a “leading” line up won’t save you from BSL. Saying there’s no such breed won’t save you from BSL.
You need to understand the “breed” so you can defend it well.
We need to cut down on irresponsible breeders AND owners. (of ALL dogs, not just these)
We need to train our dogs to be ambassadors for this breed so we can start to make a difference.
Ok….. I suppose I’m all ranted out.
For now.